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August 12, 2006 Results

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS By Kevin Kovac PEVELY, MO ? Aug. 12, 2006 ? Brian Shirley continued his summer hot-streak at I-55 Raceway on Saturday night, scoring a flag-to-flag victory in the 40-lap Mid-America Racing Series/United Midwestern Promoters Clash. Winless in 2006 until July 15, the Chatham, Ill., driver captured his fourth straight Saturday-night show at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval. And this was undoubtedly Shirley?s most important triumph. It brought the 25-year-old a cool $5,000 check, and he registered his first career win on DIRT MotorSports? MARS tour. ?Unfortunately for half the season I didn?t have any luck,? said Shirley, who is in his fourth year as a dirt Late Model driver. ?We were struggling real bad, but we regrouped and now we?re back to some winning ways.? Shirley mastered the special event, leading the entire distance after starting from the outside pole. He passed polesitter Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., for the top spot at the initial green flag and never looked back. Three-time MARS champion Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Ark., challenged Shirley throughout the race?s second half, but he settled for second place, about three car lengths behind at the finish. Billy Faust of Lebanon, Ill., held off 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., to finish third, and Dane Dacus of Arlington, Tenn., came from the 19th starting spot to complete the top five. A fast start was the key for Shirley, who drove a one-month-old Rocket car co-owned by Ed Petroff and Jayco Construction. ?For the first part of the race my car just stuck like glue in the middle of the racetrack,? said Shirley, whose machine was equipped with a Pro Power engine. ?It was awesome. It was like driving on a rollercoaster around the corners ? it just stuck. ?That put me in the lead, and then I did what I had to do.? That meant staying snug to the concrete wall that lines the inside of I-55 Raceway?s turns. ?One of my guys was signaling me to stay on the bottom,? said Shirley. ?Honestly, I didn?t feel that good on the bottom. I felt better rolling through the middle, but I stayed on the bottom. ?I figured, If Frye was gonna pass me, he was gonna have to do it on the top.? Frye, who entered the event leading the MARS points standings by eight markers over fellow three-time tour champ Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., moved from the ninth starting spot to second in just nine laps, but he couldn?t climb any higher. ?We freed the car up just a little,? said the 45-year-old Frye, who drove a GRT car. ?We also had a wheel seal out on the right side (of the car?s) rearend, and it was throwing oil all over the tires. That might?ve hurt me. ?Bu I really can?t complain. Brian drove a good race, and we had a good run.? Shirley, who survived some anxious moments in lapped traffic during the final circuits, felt that winning in his first MARS start of the season cemented the fact that?s he?s back on track. ?Last year we won the (UMP) Summer Nationals finale at Oakshade (Ohio in July) and ran good at the end of year,? said Shirley. ?It?s taken us awhile this year, but we showed people we?re still a force to be reckoned with. We just had to get all our ducks in a row.? About a half-straightaway behind the lead pair at the finish was Faust, who enjoyed his best MARS finish of the season. ?I think I was a little bit too tight through the holes (to keep pace with the leaders),? said Faust, who started 12th. ?Whenever I?d hit a rut, I?d push real bad. It seemed like those guys (Shirley and Frye) could roll through ?em better without upsetting their cars a whole lot.? Holding off the late-race bids of a dirt Late Model legend like Moyer, who started seventh, made the 25-year-old Faust?s outing even sweeter. ?It?s definitely a good feeling anytime you can run with guys like him,? said Faust. ?He probably considers fourth an off night, but when you can beat him on his off night, it?s still a good night for us.? Moyer, who entered the event to get a feel for his new Rayburn car in advance of upcoming WoO LMS shows at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway (Aug. 14) and Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. (Aug. 15), felt fortunate to record a top-five finish on a very difficult oval. ?This track is a nightmare to drive,? said Mmoyer. ?I don?t think you can make the car feel comfortable. There?s tacky spots and slick spots and rough spots. You feel like a pig on ice.? Three caution flags slowed the race ? on lap four for Bryan Collins?s turn-four spin; lap eight for the slowing Justin Wells; and lap 15 for Steve Rushin?s off-the-pace car. A 36-car field participated in the event, which used the passing-points system to set the feature?s top-16 starters. Heat winners were Michael Kloos, Shirley, Korte and Jeff Taylor, and Matt Taylor and Jeff Johns topped the B-Mains. Frye, seeking his first MARS title since 2003, extended his points lead to 36 markers over Phillips. Phillips used a provisional to get into the feature after crushing the nose of his car in a heat-race tangle on the homestretch. After his crew put a new nosepiece on his No. 75 and fixed a bent tie-rod, Phillips salvaged his night with a 10th-place finish in the main. The MARS tour heads to Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., on Sunday night (Aug. 13) for a $3,000-to-win event on the facility?s inner quarter-mile oval. MARS/UMP Late Models - 36 Entries Heat 1 1. 6K Michael Kloos 2. 99 Fran Heckenast 3. 10 Justin Wells 4. 8 Kyle Steffens 5. 51 Steve Shive 6. 42 Brandon McCormick 7. 47 Danny Haynes 8. 67 Mark Oller 9. 97 Joey Mack DNS Heat 2 1. 3S Brian Shirley 2. 5S Steve Sheppard 3. 66 Bill Frye 4. 26 Billy Faust 5. 3L Matt Taylor 6. 95 Jeff Johns 7. 54 Dane Dacus 8. 66 Allen Hammond 9. 60 Jordan Jones Heat 3 1. 00 Randy Korte 2. 14 Steve Rushin 3. 5JR Billy James 4. 112 Tim Ratajczyk 5. 78 Paul Belken 6. 28 Don Klein 7. 1 Ron McQuerry 8. 7 Rich Lawson 9. 33 Tim Manville Heat 4 1. 5T Jeff Taylor 2. 11Z Brian Collins 3. 21 Billy Moyer 4. F1 Jeff Floyd 5. 1V Will Vaught 6. 69 Mark Hunter 7. 75 Terry Phillips 8. F15 Jeremy Conaway 9. 21J Billy Moyer Jr. Semi Number 1 Top 2 Advance 1. 3L Matt Taylor 2. 54 Dane Dacus 3. 51 Steve Shive 4. 60 Jordan Jones 5. 42 Brandon McCormick 6. 1 Ron McQuerry 7. 69 Mark Hunter 8. 28 Don Klein 9. 7 Rich Lawson 10. 67 Mark Oller DNS Semi Number 2 Top 2 Advance 1. 95 Jeff Johns 2. 1 Will Vaught 3. 97 Joey Mack 4. 66 Allen Hammond 5. 47 Danny Haynes 6. 21J Billy Moyer Jr. 7. 78 Paul Belken 8. F15 Jeremy Conaway 9. 75 Terry Phillips DNS 10. 33 Tim Manville DNS Feature 1. 3S Brian Shirley (2) 2. 66 Bill Frye (9) 3. 26 Billy Faust (12) 4. 21 Billy Moyer (7) 5. 54 Dane Dacus (19) 6. 5T Jeff Taylor (6) 7. 1V Will Vaught (20) 8. 112 Tim Ratajczyk (15) 9. 3L Matt Taylor (17) 10. 75 Terry Phillips (21) 11. 6 Michael Kloos (4) 12. 00 Randy Korte (1) 13. 11Z Brian Collins (3) 14. F1 Jeff Floyd (14) 15. 5JR Billy James (13) 16. 95 Jeff Johns (18) 17. 10 Justin Wells (8) 18. 8 Kyle Steffens (16) 19. 97 Joey Mack (24) 20. 99 Frank Heckenast (10) 21. 47 Danny Haynes (23) 22. 5S Steve Sheppard (5) 23. 14 Steve Rushin (11) 24. 28 Don Klein (22) UMP Modifieds - 27 Entries Heat 1 1. 1W Ray Walsh 2. 4J Scott Weber 3. 88 Joe Purcelli 4. 17 Brad Thurston 5. C6 Ray Wagner 6. 59 Rich Whaley 7. 20Z Dan Zander 8. 31 Mitch Parmeley 9. 72 Jeremy Roth Heat 2 1. 77 Rick Stevenson 2. 31 Ricky Horton 3. 10 Todd McGraw 4. C4 Chris Soutia 5. 15 Jerry Grither 6. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 7. 21A Karl Adams 8. 20Z Dan Zander 9. 18 Jeremy Greenwalt Heat 3 1. 89 Bobby Bittle 2. 45M Eric Mabery 3. 51 Tim Hill 4. 3D Lou Dreimeier 5. 9W Doug Wood 6. 12 Tom Ratajczyk 7. 7 Mark Miner 8. 99 Robby Helms 9. 66 Brian Worley Dash 1. 4J Scott Weber 2. 89 Bobby Bittle 3. 77 Rick Stevenson 4. 1W Ray Walsh 5. 51 Tim Hill 6. 10 Todd McGraw 7. 88 Joe Purcelli 8. 31 Ricky Horton 9. 45M Eric Mabery Semi 1. 7 Mark Miner 2. 18 Bobby Daudermann 3. 21A Karl Adams 4. 31 Mitch Parmeley 5. 20Z Dan Zander 6. 20M Brad McKinnon 7. 99 Robby Helms 8. 72 Jeremy Roth DNS. 66 Brian Worley Feature 1. 4J Scott Weber 2. 89 Bobby Bittle 3. 1W Ray Walsh 4. 77 Rick Stevenson 5. 88 Joe Puricelli 6. 45M Eric Mabery 7. 7 Mark Miner 8. C6 Ray Wagner 9. 9W Doug Wood 10. 12 Tom Ratajczyk 11. 18 Bobby Daudermann 12. 3D Lou Driemeier 13. 10 Todd McGraw 14. 20M Brad McKinnon 15. 21A Karl Adams 16. 20Z Dan Zander 17. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 18. 59 Rich Whaley 19. 15 Jerry Grither 20. 31P Mitch Parmeley 21. 17 Brad Thurston 22. 51 Tim Hill 23. 31 Ricky Horton DNS. C4 Chris Soutiea UMP/AARA Sportsman - 26 Entries Heat 1 1. 155 Jason Keller 2. D5 Paul Belken 3. 99 Chuck Adams 4. 97 John Goodson 5. 411 Marty Heck 6. 147 Kyle Stolzer 7. 31 Brian Shuberg 8. M16 Joe McCain 9. M41 Steve Maisel Heat 2 1. 12 Troy Naeger 2. 36 Bob Schmidt 3. 105 Matt Hancock 4. 19 Jimmy Cummins 5. 96 Tim Hollerbach 6. 32 Jerry Fleming 7. 109 Jeff Robbins 8. 78 Rick Barker Heat 3 1. 24 Paul Baumann 2. 62 Troy Medley 3. 50 Kent Nations 4. 3 Craig Bisinger 5. 67 Ronnie Bader 6. 18 Tyson Gegg 7. 811 Wade Sutter 8. 30 Mike Nicholson Dash 1. 12 Troy Naeger 2. 62 Troy Medley 3. 24 Paul Baumann 4. 155 Jason Keller 5. 36 Bob Schmidt 6. 105 Matt Hancock 7. 97 John Goodson 8. 50 Kent Nations 9. D5 Paul Belken Feature 1. 62 Troy Medley 2. 24 Paul Baumann 3. 50 Kent Nations 4. D5 Paul Belken 5. 36 Bob Schmidt 6. 19 Jimmy Cummins 7. 67 Ronnie Bader 8. 155 Jason Keller 9. 105 Matt Hancock 10. 97 John Goodson 11. 96 Tim Hollerbach 12. 18 Tyson Gegg 13. 147 Kyle Stolzer 14. 411 Marty Heck 15. 99 Chuck Adams 16. M41 Steve Maisel 17. 811 Wade Sutter 18. 32 Jerry Fleming 19. M16 Joe McCain 20. 30 Mike Nicholson 21. 109 Jeff Robbins 22. 29 Jeff LaBaube 23. 12 Troy Naeger 24. 78 Rick Barker 25. 3 Craig Bisinger DNS. 31 Brian Shubirg AARA Pro 4 Stocks - 19 Entries Heat 1 1. 15 Mike McMullen 2. 14 Brad Smith 3. 9 Brad Almond 4. 49 Nathan Portell 5. 10 Dave Racer 6. 11 Ray Wagner 7. 45 Charles Johnson 8. 43 Tony Armbruster 9. 66 Jason Marquitz 10. 7 Conrad Miner Heat 2 1. 50 Trey Harris 2. 5 Chris Fisher 3. 86 Jason Crump 4. 77 Ron Lyons 5. 117 Garrett Robinson 6. 2T Dan Schmidt 7. C6 Scott Allen 8. 111 Eric Gilomen 9. 186 Stephen Crump Feature 1. 50 Trey Harris 2. 15 Mike McMullen 3. 86 Jason Crump 4. 5 Chris Fisher 5. 10 Dave Racer 6. 14 Brad Smith 7. 11 Tim Griffaw 8. 45 Charles Johnson 9. 77 Ron Lyons 10. 66 Jason Marquitz 11. 7 Conrad Miner 12. 9 Brad Almond 13. 43 Terry Armbruster 14. 117 Garrett Robinson 15. 2T Dan Schmidt 16. 49 Nathan Portell 17. 11 Ray Wagner 18. C6 Scott Allen DNS. 186 Stephen Crump

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